EVENTS at HOUSMANS
We regularly have a variety of events in the shop, and are always welcome for suggestions from authors, artists and campaigners who want to use the shop for evening events. Past events include talks, book signings, film screenings, art exhibitions and musical performances.
Click here for an archive; which includes a number of selected filmed highlights, of our previous events. Also, you can view video from some special events here.
TALK
Peace News present:
‘From Hastings To Kabul – A voyage of peace and nonviolence’
with Maya Evans
7pm, Saturday 4th February
Free entry
Maya Evans is a peace activist who writes a regular column in Housmans’ sister newspaper Peace News. She became the first person in the UK to be convicted under the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 for taking part in an unauthorised demonstration within 1 km of Parliament Square, at which she read aloud the names of British soldiers who had been killed in Iraq following the 2003 Iraq war.
Maya has spent the winter visiting the capital of Afghanistan, Kabul, where she met with Afghans committed to nonviolence, and ending the conflict in Afghanistan. She was blogging as throughout the trip (internet access permitting) here: fromhastingstokabul.wordpress.com
In June 2010 Maya won “a partial victory” in the High Court, when it ruled that Afghans detained by British forces could no longer be transferred to a detention centre in Kabul run by Afghanistan’s intelligence agency (NDS), because of the risk of torture. Since then, the UN has found compelling evidence of systematic torture in five facilities run by the NDS – including at least one facility deemed safe for detainee transfers by the High Court.
Maya says: “Last year, as a result of a legal challenge brought by British activists, the High Court ruled that it was unlawful for Britain to transfer Afghan detainees to the secret police in Kabul, because of the high risk that they might be tortured. However, this ruling provides no protection for the thousands of Afghans who are being detained by Afghan forces – despite the fact that these forces are trained, funded and equipped by the US and Britain. The British Government remains complicit in torture in Afghanistan, and so long as this is the case I intend to continue challenging it.”
We hope you can come along to here Maya discussing her recent trip and her thoughts on the continuing conflict across Afghanistan, and the efforts to bring peace and much needed aid to the region.
BOOK EVENT/TALK
Pluto Press presents:
‘Journalism, radicalism and feminism’
with Laurie Penny
7pm, Wednesday 8th February
£3, redeemable against any purchase
In the space of a year, Laurie Penny has become one of the most prominent voices of the new left. In 2011 she published two books, ‘Meat Market: Female Flesh Under Capitalism’ (Zero Books) and ‘Penny Red: Notes from the New Age of Dissent’ (Pluto Press), which collects Penny's writings on youth politics, resistance, feminism and culture.
Her journalism is a unique blend of persuasive analysis, captivating interviews and first-hand accounts of political direct action. She was involved in all the key protests of 2010/2011, including the anti-fees demos in 2010 and the anti-cuts protests of spring 2011, often tweeting live from the scene of kettles and baton charges. Her blog, 'Penny Red', was shortlisted for the Orwell prize in 2010.
In this talk Laurie will be considering a range of issues raised in her two recent books, focussing particularly on the points where journalism, radicalism and feminism meet.
“Penny is re-inventing the language of dissent, delivering verbal taser-barbs to the left and right, and causing apoplexy among the old men in cardigans who run the British blogosphere.” – Paul Mason, economics editor of BBC’s Newsnight
About The Author
Laurie Penny is a journalist, feminist, and political activist from London. She is a regular writer for the New Statesman’ and The Guardian, and has also contributed to the Independent, Red Pepper and the Evening Standard.
She is the author of ‘Meat Market: Female Flesh Under Capitalism’ (Zero Books, 2011) and ‘Penny Red: Notes from the New Age of Dissent’ (Pluto Press, 2011). She has presented Channel 4's Dispatches and been on the panel of the BBC's Any Questions. Her blog, 'Penny Red', was shortlisted for the Orwell prize in 2010.
Book information
‘Meat Market: Female Flesh Under Capitalism’
Paperback: 79 pages
Publisher: Zero Books
£6.99
‘Penny Red: Notes from the New Age of Dissent’
Paperback: 224 pages
Publisher: Pluto Press (7 Oct 2011)
£12.99
TALK
Ashes and Diamonds theatre company and
The Albert Camus society UK presents:
‘Albert Camus: existentialism and the absurd’
with Simon Lea
Wednesday 22nd February, 7pm
£3, redeemable against any purchase
"We turn toward God only to obtain the impossible"
The evening introduces the troubling philosophical question which form the centre of Camus' work: in a world where everything is permitted, can anything be denied? In what appears to be a meaningless universe can we find an authentic ethic (and should we bother trying)? This is a terribly uncomfortable and unsettling notion for the majority of people, so very strong is our desire for meaning that we dismiss the idea that there is no meaning to be found. The struggle to find meaning where none exists is what Camus calls ‘the absurd’.
This talk introduces the philosophical work of Albert Camus, looking at the ethics of the protagonist Meursault, in Camus’ novel ‘The Stranger’, his essay ‘The Myth of Sisyphus’, and his most famous play ‘Caligula’.
The event proceeds two forthcoming productions of Caligula. The first is a new production by the Ashes and Diamonds theatre company, running from the 22nd March to the 21st April at The Elevator Gallery in Hackney Wick; the second is a touring opera set in a football stadium at the ENO in May.
The speaker is Simon Lea of The Albert Camus society U.K. Simon is one of Europe's experts on Albert Camus and his work.
"Don't walk in front of me, I may not follow. Don't walk behind me, I may not lead. Walk beside me and be my friend."
Ashes and Diamonds Theatre company perform plays, classic and modern, in their own style. Their last production was their own adaptation of Dostoyevsy's ‘Crime and Punishment’, performed in a 10million pound squat in Mayfair belonging to The Sultan of Bruni which was "liberated" by the Oubliette Arthouse, and proud to achieve sell out shows. ‘Caligula’ is their third production, which is their first commissioned translation from the original French text. Ashes and Diamonds have also written an original play ‘The Underground’, based on the Warsaw uprising of 1945, and are seeking funding with ambitions to tour France, Germany and Poland.
The Albert Camus Society UK, founded on January 1st 2005, exists to promote the work of Albert Camus. The aim of the Camus Society is to increase awareness of Albert Camus as a relevant voice in contemporary philosophy.
Elevator Gallery occupies the attic of a former Victorian chocolate factory in London’s East End, next to the River Lea. The gallery is committed to exhibiting artists at all stages of their career. The curators are especially interested in transgressive and thought provoking work. Besides regular exhibitions of international contemporary art, the gallery has a regular programme of live art, cinema and musical events.
Website links.
http://www.elevatorgallery.co.uk/
http://www.camus-society.com/index.html
Housmans has a variety of Camus titles available to buy online: please click here to browse our stock.
Housmans Bookshop, 5 Caledonian Road, King’s Cross,
London, N1 9DX
tel: 020 7837 4473
e: shop@housmans.com
www.housmans.com